Student Film and Television awards presented
NFM High School’s Sami Curls among the winners; earns three honors in competition
North Fort Myers High School’s Sami Curls earned three honors at the recent 2026 Lee County Student Film and Television Awards.
There were more than 150 entries submitted by hundreds of students from 24 schools.
Curls took wins for “Operation Over-Easy” for promo video; “Hit the Road Jack” for short-film; and “Web of Chaos” for comedy.
Curls said her parents, who work in Lee County, told her about the awards in 2024, which is when she submitted her first video.
“I have been submitting videos every year. This is my third time winning the short-film category,” she said.
Curls won two awards her sophomore year — 9-12 short film and Best in Show and her junior year she won 9-12 short film.
As a senior, she began applying for college with one of the requirements being to write a screen play. The prompt turned into a two-page screenplay.
“I wanted to turn it into something real. I had a set idea for the bedroom I wanted it to be shot in and my friend, Emily Bell, also a senior, had the perfect bedroom and she is also in theater,” Curls said. “We had two days of filming. I was the director, writer, cinematographer, and editor. Emily was my amazing actress.”
“Web of Chaos” is a short comedy video about a girl who wants to spend a cozy night reading and finds a spider in her room and tries to eliminate it at all costs.
“She was at the awards ceremony, and it was great to create something my senior year and bond with my friend,” Curls said.
Her promo video – “Operation Over Easy” is a movie trailer about two agents that have to protect Alexandra Dumpty, the egg daughter of the late Humpty Dumpty. Curls said she was inspired by her physics class egg drop project – protecting the egg with stuff so it does not break.
After doing the project – she thought “I can turn this into a movie.”
“I started writing and put egg puns in the script,” Curls said.
In this movie, she was also the director, writer cinematographer, and actor. Her friends Nicole Kasten and Karina Vega played roles in the video as well.
“I was the FBI boss lady,” Curls said.
The short-film was “Hit the Road Jack,” one that she has been “cooking up for maybe nine months.” She said her grandfather taught her how to play poker, something she wanted to turn into something cool, as she has a love and interest for the game, skill and strategy involved.
“I wanted to make this intense poker video. For that one I had five of my friends act including myself,” Curls said. “We had three different film days. It was super fun. I got to teach them how to play poker. My grandpa passed away earlier this year and never got to see this finished product. I connected with friends by doing something grandpa taught me.”
After graduating from North Fort Myers High School this month with a 5.54 grade point average, she will attend the Georgia Institute of Technology (aka Georgia Tech) in the fall for an arts, entertainment, and creative technology major. This route will help Curls learn about such skills as postproduction, and editing — the computer part of film making.
She is excited, as the fall class will be the first pursuing this degree. Curls said she enjoys building the scenes and putting them together for the viewers to enjoy. She said she also likes the directing aspect as well.
“I a pretty good with my friends that aren’t actors. I explain what they do and why they are doing it – what emotions I want the viewers to experience in the scene,” she said. “I really love making videos.”
There were 13 categories across divisions for elementary, middle, and high school, as well as Best in Show for each division and a Lee Schools TV Choice Award presented to one entry.
The Best in Show for elementary school was News Show by Tortuga Preserve Elementary School, “Kung Fu Fighting” from Cypress Lake Middle School’s music video and “Digital Danger Protocol” public service announcement from Dunbar High School.
The short film Lee Schools TV Choice Award went to Gateway High School for “Clue-Less.”
The winners for each category include:
Elementary
• “Doodle Island” Tortuga Preserve Elementary for animation
• “How to Make Shepard’s Pie” The Sanibel School for instructional video
• “Osiris Foster” Sunshine Elementary for music video
• Tortuga Preserve Elementary for News Show
• “You Should Visit Bailey’s on Sanibel” The Sanibel School for PSA/PROMO
Middle School
• “Prime Talk” Oak Hammock Middle School for animation
• “Test of Time” Oak Hammock Middle School for comedy
• “Inside the Ensemble” Oak Hammock Middle for documentary
• “Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake” Oak Hammock Middle for instructional video
• “Kung Fu Fighting” Cypress lake Middle for music video
• Lexington Middle for News Show
• “Screen Zombiez” for Promo for video
• “In the Shadows” Oak Hammock Middle for PSA
• “Don’t Fall for Fentanyl” Oak Hammock Middle for Norm Project PSA
• “All-Star” Oak Hammock Middle for Short-Film
High School
• “It Speaks for Itself” Riverdale High for animation
• “Web of Chaos” North Fort Myers High for comedy
• “Wings Up: An FGCU Documentary?” Bonita Springs High for documentary
• “How to Pretend You Understand the Lesson” Fort Myers High for instructional video
• “Man or Muppet, North Fort Myers High for music video
• “Center Stage: BSHS Students Shine at Dance Academy” Bonita Springs High for news package
• Bonita Spring High for News Show
• AJ Leuzzi Bonita Springs High for on-camera talent
• “Operation: Over-Easy” North Fort Myers High for promo video
• “More Than You Imagine” Cypress Lake High for norm project PSA
• “Hit the Road Jack” North Fort Myers High for short film
• “BBN News Front Row Intro” Bonita Springs High for sports
• “Digital Danger Protocol” Dunbar High for PSA
The red-carpet ceremony was held April 28 at South Fort Myers High School.
The event was made possible through a Suncoast Credit Union grant.
To view Curls’ videos, visit samicurls.com.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com